Civilian endeavours
by Rokasan
Summary: Life as a civilian in a ninja village. The ninjas are fitter, faster, stronger and prioritised in everything... Is it any wonder every child's dream is to become one?
1. Chapter 1 - Beginnings

Inspired by other people's works in Kishimoto's world of Naruto this is my first attempt at writing since school days... Hope it's enjoyable!

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 **Chapter 1: Beginnings**

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Even during these times of relative peace, the hospital was a flurry of activity, with ninja constantly requiring treatment for injuries or overexertion sustained in the name of training. Being a prominent ninja village, the strength and health of the ninja population was literally the lifeblood of their security, reputation and consequent was heavily subsidised for active ninja - not so for the civilians. Of course the ninja had signed their life and service over to the village during genin registration, but the fact remained that unless a civilian's ailment was obviously in need of the superior chakra healing offered at the hospital, civilians would barely present.

Yuri Matsugu knew that her work in the hospital was of great contribution to Konoha. With her deft dealings in paperwork, the nurses and medics could get on with actually healing the patients and sending them on their way, keeping the village functional and active. However, it was on her regular summer rotation in the Shogakku enrolments office where Yuri felt she was really furthering the future of Konoha.

It was the custom that over the summer, any potential student to Shogakku, the civilian elementary school, would attend the office with their parent or guardian to enrol. There they would undergo a complementary medical check up, sometimes the first that these children had had since their discharge from the hospital at birth. Ostensibly, the health check was a routine part of school enrollment, in reality the examination allowed for those with active chakra coils to be identified and 'recommended' to enrol at the academy. In addition to this, some were offered the option of having their chakra coils stimulated to enable their entrance into the academy.

It was important for the future of village that as many children as possible become loyal and competent ninja, to swell the ranks that had greatly diminished due to the war and Kyuubi attack. From the data, she knew that this year's cohort had the most potential. They were the children born the year of the Kyuubi attack, and thus those most affected by the bijuu chakra exposure during the attack. The pervasive chakra of the Kyuubi had been felt by everyone in the vicinity and had had a peculiar effect on the very young, forcibly activating or enlarging their chakra coils. Those that had survived the onslaught had a substantial boost to the early development of their coils which in turn increased their inherent maximum limitations. Given ample opportunity and training, she knew this year's cohort could become Konoha's greatest shinobi by far.

Yuri felt privileged to be part of the team that guided their crucial first step, convincing potential students and their parents of the benefits of becoming a shinobi. She heard footsteps in the hall and raised her eyes to see the entrance of a blonde lady with green eyes, trailed closely by a small shy girl with pink hair…


	2. Chapter 2 - Entering the Academy

An AU(?) where Sakura's parents are both civilians, with the intent to show just how hard it is advance without clan nepotism...

 _Italics are intended to be inner Sakura's voice_

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Chapter 2: Entering the Academy

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She would be going to the academy, the academy! She couldn't believe it! The woman at the Shogakku enrollment office had said she had great potential that would be wasted at the civilian school. She'd have to work hard, but she'd qualified for the top class, as since she could already read and write (well, some simple kanji) she had a head start on some of the other kids.

 _Shannaro! I'll knock it out of the park! Show how incredible I am!_

Ever since she was a little girl she had enviously caught glimpses of ninja going by rooftop while she trod the muggy streets, navigating the sea of legs and the press of the adult crowds. She'd been jealous ever since she could read, seeing the sign "free entry for genin ninja" by the public onsen, a place she only visited with her mother as a 'special occasion'.

I'll be able to soak in the hot springs everyday! My skin will be always so soft and beautiful, okaasan always said relaxing in there made her feel and look years younger!

Also, as a ninja no one would ever dare to tease her about her pink hair again. She'd seen the woman often, at the dango stand close to central, the ninja with purple hair. Sure, people commented on her state of dress (or state of undress, rather) but there was never even a whisper said about her unusual hair. Hm, maybe then Kenri and the other boys from the neighbouring apartment block would stop teasing her.

 _Baka boys, how dare they tell me my hair is strange and I can't play ninja, well I'll be a real ninja and that'll show them!_

The first morning of term Sakura was woken by her mother's call from downstairs. She washed carefully and donned the clothes her mother had laid out, before entering the kitchen where her mother had prepared breakfast and some onigiri to take for her lunch.

"Arigato kaasan, my favorite, umeboshi!"

"I made a few extra for you to share" Mebuki said with a smile, as she finished washing up the pans.

The Ninja Academy was at the western end of the city, at the base of the cliff upon which the faces of the Leaf hokage were carved. This was a fair distance from the civilian quarter, where Sakura and her family lived, so Mebuki would ride while Sakura sat on the back of the bike. On the way they passed the civilian school, Shogakku, where she could see a few new students and their parent milling about on the grounds. By the time they reached the Academy there was a sea of faces swarming the courtyard and she was directed to join the other children in the entrance hall for the introduction ceremony.

Her mother had the usual business errands and appointments to attend, back in the civilian quarter, so would be a little late picking her up "Wait for me near that swing, and make sure to give the onigiri to your new friends!" she said with a hug and a quick peck on the cheek.

 _Way to embarrass me mum_ , she thought, looking out between her bangs to see if anyone had noticed. As she turned apprehensively towards the now looming Academy building, she didn't spot the small blond boy who watched the exchange with longing in his bright blue eyes from the shadow of some nearby trees.


	3. Chapter 3 - First Day

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it!

Thanks to Silver Queen for detailed worldbuilding, as you'll see a lot is borrowed off the DOS universe. Basically we're in the DOSverse for now (it's not assumed knowledge) but we'll probably diverge later on.

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Chapter 3 - First day

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Sakura sat in awe as she saw the Hokage up close for the first time, right in front of her was the most powerful man in the village! His face was aged compared to his likeness carved into the mountain, but age must not affect ninja in the same way it did civilians. Her father was always commenting about the pains of getting old, although now she wasn't sure, perhaps he just made a big deal out of it for joke fodder. The man in front of her was exuding a real presence, powerful but not oppressive, filling her with pride and a sense of importance - it was THEM he was addressing, them that he claimed were the basis of Konoha's future. Boy, her mum would have wrangled a way to stay if she knew the Hokage would be speaking to them. Probably just as well though, she would have gone on about it for weeks to anyone that listened…

Wait- she suddenly realised she had been lost in her thoughts for some time, hadn't he said how important it was for them to focus on learning to the best of their ability? Now he was talking about some will of fire and she had missed it, was it a special technique? Maybe they needed to hold onto it because if they didn't it would go out of control and burn down Konoha? Argh, well she'd probably learn more about it later, she resolved to sit up front and pay good attention in the lessons to come.

Classes were called and her new teacher Iruka-sensei led them to a large classroom with row upon row of benches. Slipping into the front row she pulled out her things and waited while the teacher attempted to settle the rest of the class. Were the other kids really that confident they didn't need to learn? Maybe she wasn't as far ahead as she thought, this WAS supposedly the top class. Some of them even seemed to know each other, she shrunk shyly in her seat and hoped she'd be able to make friends.

When the bell rang for lunch she timidly moved towards a group of three girls that had gathered at the front of the room. One of them had purple hair so she figured her pink hair wouldn't be so out of place among them. The purple haired one, Ami, had turned, looked her over and nodded briefly in greeting. Her heart had soared at the acceptance, but it was short lived, "Eww, umeboshi!" the second girl Fuki exclaimed as she pulled out her lunch once they were seated outside. Well, she wouldn't be pulling out the extras… She only managed to eat half of one before their comments cowed her into to putting it away. The three chatted away the rest of lunch, she sat quietly, listening on and trying to keep up as Ami boasted of the exotic travels and secret spy missions her shinobi uncle had apparently been on.

After lunch was taijutsu class, which was basically practicing various physical skills. She proved to be well below average. She'd never exercised much and certainly not so much in one go. It meant getting her clothes dirty and becoming sweaty and tired, and without lunch even more so. Her mother had never liked when she got messy, "the neighbours would talk", she'd always said. She forced herself through the drills, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily; when Iruka-sensei did not goad her on like some of the others, she counted it a win. One day down, one day closer to becoming a ninja.

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Thanks for all your follows and favourites (and review), I was not expecting that level of response and it is really encouraging! I'm glad that you are enjoying reading this. Obviously this is pretty slow paced and will continue to be, although I certainly won't be going day by day, but if you're into the adventure and high powered ninja-fighting fics - well, as far as I can tell Chunnin exams for Sakura are a long long way off so this story is probably not for you...


	4. Omake - The way to a man's heart

Happy New Year!

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Omake#1 - The way to a man's heart is through his stomach

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She waited miserably not far from the swing her mother had pointed out in the morning, exhausted from the day's events. Most of the other children had already left with their parents. Playing on the jungle gym equipment was a kid she vaguely recognised from her class, Haruto? Yuuto? His blond hair stood up messily and he had strange whisker marks on his cheeks. She wondered how he still had energy to climb around as he did.

Her stomach growled and she pulled out her half eaten onigiri. She took a bite and closed her eyes savouring the combination of sweet and sour rolling around her mouth as she chewed.

"Looks tasty."

She opened her eyes with a start, somehow the boy had moved to stand by the swing without her hearing anything. Flushing, she looked down at the onigiri in her hands.

"What is it?"

"U.. umeboshi onigiri" she stuttered, bracing herself for his response.

"Oh" he said. Silence followed.

Looking up she saw him staring hungrily at the ball in her hand. "U.. um, would you like some?"

His blue eyes lit up "Can I?"

With her free hand she pulled the extras out of her bag and handed them over, giving a general wave of her hand, expecting him to untie the cloth and pull one out as she polished off the rest of her rice ball. Instead his eyes opened wide and he gave a whoop "Awesome, dinner!"

Dinner? Surely he would be eating at home? "Well -" distracted by the appearance of her mother at the gate "just pass me the cloth tomorrow then" she finished quickly and made her way towards her mother. At least she might not have to explain what happened at lunchtime.

Naruto watched as she ran off. Wow, she's so nice, and she trusted me to give this back later? Most shopkeepers don't even let me in their stores! Huh, she really liked these too, to repay the favour I should take her out to ramen sometime! That's it! I'll take her on a date to Ichikaru's… When I have enough money I will for sure, dattabayo!

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And thus starts his persistent asking of Sakura on dates...

This probably would have worked better not-first-day both in fitting the DOS verse and in having angry Sakura released on refusals - she's probably actually too shy at this point. Well, when I hit a writer's block I may come back and rework it I guess?


	5. Chapter 4 - Smart, fit and strong

Chapter 4 - Smart, fit and strong

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The following morning Sakura woke, stiff, but surprisingly not sore, from the previous day's exercise regime. Little did she know that the ambient chakra in her system rejuvenated her body faster than a typical civilian would recover, and had replenished slightly higher than her original stores. However, the tenseness of her muscles made her ready herself slower than usual, and with the long trip to the Academy, everyone had been seated by the time she entered the classroom. Not that it mattered particularly, most of the students had shied away from the front row, meaning Sakura still got her preferred seat.

The shinobi terminology used in class had her stumped on occasion, but she diligently went through the glossary that Iruka-sensei had handed out on the first day, reading and writing out 10 words a night until she got each stroke of the kanji words perfect. She strongly suspected that Iruka-sensei had written it himself, from the light dusting of pink that had appeared on his cheeks when she had sidled up to him after class one day to ask a question about an ambiguous definition.

Beyond that, the classwork was easy enough. Iruka-sensei's teaching style was so repetitive she didn't wonder why some of the class would play up. She thinks she might even have seen one of the boys, Shikamaru, sleeping when she turned to glare at Naruto after one of his particularly loud stupid comments. There were short quizzes to test what they had learnt each week, and she was pleased she often scored full marks. Fuki had brushed past her desk on the way out after the first quiz and noted her score "Ami, she got full marks, we don't want a geek hanging around with us!"

At least this had led to her friendship with Ino, who had introduced herself afterwards, "Don't worry about them, they're just jealous idiots."

Taijutsu was her least favourite class, but by far the most frequent. The schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays was much like the first day. Theory in the morning, and taijutsu after lunch. The number of repetitions for each exercise increased at the start of each week, so just as Sakura found herself becoming accustomed to the amount of exercise, she'd be pushed to her limits again. Despite improving noticeably since the first class, the others had improved in leaps and bounds as well. Literal leaps and bounds she found as they introduced hurdles to the circuit - the rowdy boys like Naruto and Kiba would compete to see how many they could clear at once, often knocking into the hurdles and other students and causing a mini brawl on the track. She could clear 5m in a leap easily enough, but it was annoying getting enough height and distance to clear the feuding bunch of imbeciles, without risk of being clipped as she sailed past. All she wanted to do was finish the exercise and go home for a good soak in the bath.

After just a month at the academy she was fit and fast enough to travel to and from the academy herself. Her mother had reluctantly let her do so after they had discovered the Yamanaka's lived close by - on the condition she would meet with Ino and they would commute together.

"So, what's up between you and Naruto?" Ino asked, with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Uh, I just gave him some of my extra food one time, and now he keeps asking me on dates."

"You sure you're not interested? I notice you blushing whenever he asks?"

"No way! He's so annoying! Stupid too, Iruka-sensei is constantly yelling at him to pay attention and he always mucks up when it's his turn to read or answer a question."

"Hmmm," Ino mused "well, maybe you should discourage him more strongly, he doesn't seem to get it." Her thoughts wandering now that the topic of potential gossip had proved fruitless.

 _Shannaro! I'll show him I'm not interested even if I have to beat it into him!_


	6. Chapter 5 - Games

Ugh, sorry for the delay guys, 'got lost on the road of life' well, and it's hard making up OCs!

Kudos to those who have done it well! After multiple false starts I have realised less is better, for now...

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Chapter 5 - Games

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While her father was out of town, restocking, her mother would manage the clients and Sakura would help out with the household chores. Between this, her early starts and diligent revision, it was a few weeks into the Academy term before Sakura ventured out into the neighbourhood.

"Aye, Sakura, ya' been off with yer dad again?"

As usual, Kenri, Shouta and a few others were hanging around. They'd set up a row of cans on the low wall and were taking turns tossing stones.

"N-no, just busy"

"What with? We haven't seen you at school" piped up Shouta

"I'm at the Academy"

Kenri fixed her with a hard stare.

"Wow!"

"Cool, you're going to be a ninja?"

"How'd you score that?"

The others paused in their game congratulating her and questioning her enviously.

"They picked me when I went in for enrollment"

"No way!"

"Wish they picked me!"

"Yer hair's too pink"

 _Shannaro, not this again._ "Well, I'm near top of the top class" Sakura stated, confidence temporarily buoyed by the awed attention of her peers.

"Ai, en that proves yer foreh'd ken be a big target no?" Kenri guffawed, some of the boys laughing with him.

 _I'll show you a target._ Picking up a stone from the pile, she pegged it at the nearest can. Her practice activities from taijutsu class paying off, it hit the can square on and sent it clattering to the ground beyond the wall.

 _How's that?_ Inner Sakura smirked as Sakura turned back to the group and faltered at Kenri's unimpressed raised eyebrow.

"Umm, Sakura, we were tossing stones into the cans." Shouta murmured.

Flushing, she rallied and primly replied "Well, I was just showing you what we learnt at the Academy"

"So yer have class playin' games, think ninja work is fun do yer? Drawled Kenri

"It's not games, it's training." She replied firmly "And the classwork is interesting, and kunoichi class is fun, yes."

"Should stick te yer family work yer know, instead of playin' games"

"It's not playing" Sakura said again, though less firmly than before.


	7. Chapter 6 - The Clan Advantage: Yamanaka

Enter Shikako! (From Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine)

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Chapter 6 - The Clan Advantage (Yamanaka)

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Special 'kunoichi classes' started in the second week of the Academy. It wasn't a compulsory class, after academy hours on Thursdays, but as far as Sakura could tell most of the girls in their grade were present. The teacher, Suzume-sensei, had led them to the lightly wooded area behind the Academy and told them to gather a bouquet of flowers.

Sakura's heart sank as she noted the approach of Ami, Fuki and Kasumi. Although she had sat with them during the first week of the academy, after her perfect score on the first quiz Ami and Fuki had taken to aiming cruel comments at her. She wondered where Ino had wandered off to while she had been busy admiring a butterfly flit amongst small blooms in the long grass.

"You look like you're having fun, Miss Huge forehead."

Sakura, still crouching, looked down at the ground, an action ingrained by habit where the fringe would conceal her forehead and the tears brimming in her eyes. Too late she remembered the ribbon was holding her hair back…

 _Shannaro, why is it always my forehead!? Ever since I was little I've been teased about it! Even Ino's pretty ribbon is causing more harm than good… Ami will see my tears-_

"You've been trying to look better recently, who do you think you are?" Ami continued, looming closer, leering.

Suddenly, Ami's head flew backwards, flower stems dead center in her mouth. Sakura heard a familiar voice call out something about poison at which Ami shrieked and fled, Fuki and Kasumi sharing a worried glance before hurrying after her.

Sakura blinked through her tears to see Ino approaching smugly. "The poison is in the root though, and it has to be pounded then steeped overnight to extract it," she said and flopped down beside Sakura.

Sakura smiled at Ino tremulously and, being too choked up to speak, was relieved it was correctly interpreted as thanks.

"No problem" Ino responded with a warm smile, before leaning back and humming a soft tune, giving Sakura some basis for the pretense of concealing her hiccups and sniffles.

"That was a good throw."

Startled, Sakura looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair in a braid, her hands fidgeting with a few drooping stems. She must have been distracted again? She hadn't heard anyone approach!

Sakura vaguely recognised the girl, she had a brother in class too, _were they twins - or maybe one was held back?_

Ino beamed at the compliment. "Thank you! She deserved it! I'm Ino, and this is Sakura."

Sakura attempted a greeting, wincing when all that croaked out was "l-lo"

"Shikako," the girl replied, seemingly unfazed by the choked off words, discomfort betrayed only by the slight pause of her hands and sudden refocus on her flowers.

With tear streaked cheeks and puffy red eyes, Sakura knew she was in no condition to make a good impression, but she wished desperately she could somehow. Cold dread creeped in - shadows of the nearby copse of Hashirama trees seemed to loom and lengthen - Ino was pretty, popular and social, maybe she'd befriend this Shikako and leave her lonely again… No doubt they would prefer each other's company to that of a crybaby...

At the touch of Ino's hand on her arm, the shadows retreated and she caught Ino gazing sympathetically at her. It struck her that Ino could read her very easily. In just a week Ino had already proved herself a loyal friend, and here again she was looking to comfort her rather than focusing on the newcomer. _Yet I know character study, especially of new persons, is her favorite hobby; I really should not doubt her so..._

Warmth bloomed in Sakura, friendship assured in the contact, unspoken but heard nonetheless, 'Don't fear, I'll support you, I'm here'

The silence stretched...

"Ummm… What flowers do you have? I could only find these."

They share a smile, and Ino turns to pick up the conversation...

Even sitting languidly on the ground Ino still looked stylish, Sakura mused, in awe of her friend's skills, knowledge and poise… She could hardly name more than a few flowers and here was Ino rattling off their compatibility in arrangement, their use and preparation!

 _Shannaro! I have to study hard to catch up and be worthy of her friendship!_


End file.
